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Army Announces the Eighth Series of Weather Radar Tests July 15 - 18

Army News Service

July 13, 2004

The United States Army, in conjunction with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lincoln Laboratory, Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will conduct a series of trials, Canadian River 8, to verify the technical readiness of an early warning system (Homeland Defense Chemical Biological Umbrella or HDCBU) for aircraft aerosol release events. This test will be conducted in the vicinity of Oklahoma City on July 15 - 18 from 4 a.m. - 9 p.m. daily.

Ten trials will be conducted utilizing a Cessna 188 AgWagon crop duster aircraft, which will disseminate clay dust (kaolin), a harmless material. Chemical and biological simulants are routinely used in detection and protection capability studies conducted by the Department of Defense. This material has been selected to represent a possible biological threat while protecting human health and the environment.

Previous testing conducted in 2003 and earlier this year have produced favorable results and were designed to provide information on the feasibility and current capability of commonly used radars to provide an early warning system for aircraft aerosol release events. The objective of these trials is to verify the technical readiness of the Homeland Defense Chemical Biological Umbrella or HDCBU early warning system.

These trials will generally follow the same format as previous Canadian River field trials. Flight paths will vary by altitude [1200' above ground level (AGL) to 4000' (AGL)] and heading and generally will be conducted southwest of the Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. All trials have been coordinated with the Will Rogers World Airport Air Traffic Control tower.

Information about the test, to include a map, will be available on the Internet at www.jpeocbd.osd.mil/CA_Infopaper.htm. The public may also call the Army's toll-free Multi-Mission Sensor Test Information Line at (866) 223-1101 for a daily-recorded message about the scheduled test sites and times. Messages left on the information line will be returned in a timely manner.